The present invention relates generally to a checkout or point-of-sale (POS) terminal, and more particularly to a self-service checkout terminal.
In the retail industry, the largest expenditures are typically the cost of the goods sold followed closely by the cost of labor expended. With particular regard to the retail grocery or supermarket industry, the impetus to reduce labor costs has focused on reducing or eliminating the amount of time required to handle and/or process the items or goods to be purchased by a customer. To this end, there have been a number of self-service checkout terminal concepts developed which attempt to substantially eliminate the need for a checkout clerk.
A self-service checkout terminal is a system which is operated by a customer without the aid of a checkout clerk. In such a system, the customer scans individual items for purchase across a scanner and then places the scanned item into a grocery bag, if desired. The customer then pays for his or her purchase either at the self-service checkout terminal if so equipped, or at a central payment area which is staffed by a store employee. Thus, a self-service checkout terminal permits a customer to select, itemize, and in some cases pay for his or her purchase without the assistance of the retailer's personnel.
Self-service checkout terminals which have heretofore been designed have problems associated with the use thereof by a customer. In particular, a customer typically has little or no training in the operation of a self-service checkout terminal prior to his or her initial use of the checkout terminal. Therefore, one concern that retailers have when evaluating a self-service checkout terminal is the level of supervision provided to inexperienced customers.
In addition, self-service checkout terminals which have heretofore been designed have high costs associated therewith. In particular, self-service checkout terminals often include a number of redundant components. For example, self-service checkout terminals have been designed in which the customer scans or otherwise checks out his or her items in one location and then pays for the items in another location. Such systems typically require components such as printers and display monitors in both locations thereby increasing the number of components and hence costs associated with the checkout transaction.
Moreover, since in a majority of retail environments such as grocery stores the checkout procedure is the customer's last interaction with the store, it is imperative that the checkout operation be as efficient and pleasant as possible. Therefore, self-service checkout terminals must facilitate efficient use thereof.
What is needed therefore is a self-service checkout terminal which assists or otherwise supervises a customer in the use thereof. What is further needed is a self-checkout terminal which has a reduced number of components relative to self-service checkout terminals which have heretofore been designed. What is further needed is a self-service checkout terminal that facilitates the efficient use thereof.